Syrian family’s Mississauga home destroyed in fire
A Syrian refugee family has been forced from their Mississauga home just days before Thanksgiving after a devastating fire.
According to Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services platoon chief Alan Hills, the intense three-alarm fire “completely gutted” the family’s homeand firefighters arriving on the scene saw columns of flame reaching into the sky and fire shooting out of the unit like a “blowtorch.” The roof of the family’s townhouse collapsed from the blaze as did the roofs of some of the neighbouring units.
Hills said there are three families who aren’t able to return to their homes due to the damage. Several of them have turned to the Canadian Red Cross for support and Region of Peel officials are also helping, he added.
A 33-year-old man in connection with an incident involving residents of the unit where the fire started. Police say there was a dispute over property on Friday, Oct. 6 between a man and the townhouse’s residents and that damage was done to the family’s front door.
About a dozen units were damaged by the fire that took more than two hours to extinguish. At the height of the fire, there were 15 fire trucks and 65 firefighters on the scene.
The owner of the house, Khaled Al Awad has started a Go Fund Me campaign. The campaign had raised more than $11,000 of its $20,000 goal till now. More information can be found by visiting www.gofundme.com/syrian-refugees-lose-home-in-a-fire.
Two firefighters were injured and had to be taken to hospital. One firefighter suffered a leg injury that required treatment while the other was suffering from heat exhaustion.
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